Holes in the Floor of Heaven
by Amelia L. Mendal
Summary: James and Lily Potter watch their son from the afterlife. In time, they are joined by friends and comrades. 100 percent CANON. Rating for language and violence.
1. Uninvited Guests

A/N: Happy Christmas to Bex! Here is your Secret Santa gift; a multi-chapter, Marauder's fic based in the afterlife. I hope you enjoy it

-.-.-

He opened his eyes and was greeted by a vast amount of white. Blinking, James rubbed his head in confusion before remembering what had happened.

He died.

He died trying to protect his wife and son from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Part of him was angry, angry at the fact that he had died to begin with, but mostly he was worried. He had to make sure they were okay.

Just as he thought it, a pensieve-like circle formed at his feet, and he could see her, his Lily. Tiny Harry was in her arms, his bottom lip quivering.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside now."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead!" she shouted, clutching the infant to her chest.

"This is my last warning-"

Lily placed Harry in the crib carefully, shielding him with her body before turning to the Dark Lord.

"Not Harry... have mercy. Not Harry! Please...I'll do anything-"

James stood in quiet shock as he witnessed his wife's pleas for their son. To sacrifice herself and save Harry would be an honorable death, but they both knew he wanted Harry.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A green flash, and a body thumps.

As the evil wizard closed in on the tearful baby, Lily appeared next to James. She blinked rapidly, her green eyes looking around to grasp sight of her husband.

"James, I-"

"Shh, Lily, look!" He pointed to the Watching Glass as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named raised his wand.

"Avada Kedavra!" Flash. Scream. A puff of smokey ash. Lily fell into her husband's arms and sobbed for her son.

"What... Lily, look..."

"No, James. I-I can't." 

A baby's cries wailed through the night like a siren and the redhead woman gasped.

"Harry?!"

"He's alive, Lils. He's alive!"

"Oh my poor little man. My sweet, baby Harry."

Staring through the holes in the floor of Heaven, James and Lily Potter watched as their son cried in pain from a lightning scar on his forehead.

-.-.-

"Snape? What is that dirty Death Eater doing in my house?" James shouted, his temper flaring.

They both watched in silence as the pale man stepped precariously through the destroyed remains of the home. A fleeting glance to James showed no emotion on his face, but with the cries of a baby leading him upstairs, he shook his head and took to the stairs.

The bedroom door was cracked, and through the tiny space Snape could see baby James- no, it must be their son, obviously. Harold, or something.

Red hair strewn across the carpet like a halo, Lily was a crimson angel in death. Severus Snape fell to his knees, clutching his only love in his arms as his cries synced with the infant's.

"I knew it! I knew he was in love with you! That bloody creep, touching you as if you're his to mourn."

"James, please-"

James growled, but kept his thoughts to himself.

-.-.-

"Hagrid? What's Hagrid doing there?"

"I... I don't know, Lily. Dumbledore must have sent him. But how did he know?"

"How Dumbledore knows everything will be a mystery forever."

"Look, he's going inside..."

Hagrid put his hand on his chest at the sight of James' body, but he was on a mission, and so he moved towards the stairs. Snape, hearing the noise, Disapparated without a second glance to the orphan in the crib.

The nursery door is open at its fullest, thanks to the silent entrance of Severus Snape. Hagrid stepped in, heart wrenching at the sight of Lily on the floor. Carefully, he reached into the crib and pulled Harry to his chest, both of them sniffling loudly.

"Da da da da da," Harry cooed, his eyes rimmed with red.

"Dada is downstairs, 'Arry. We have to go now, a'right?"

"Muhhh," Harry added, reaching for Lily.

"Yer mummy is sleeping. She's so tired after a long day, aren' you?" he asked, hoping to calm the Boy Who Lived. "Come on, 'Arry. Le's go."

Hagrid bent down to Lily and let Harry pat her back. With large tears welling in his eyes, the half-giant swallowed a lump in his throat. "Say 'night-night' to mummy."

"Ni ni."

Hagrid made his way out of the house and near the street. Muggles were starting to gather in the road; he had to get out of there.

"Sirius! I knew he would come! Thank Merlin."

"No, James. This isn't good!"

"What? How could this be bad?" 

"Everyone thinks Sirius was our Secret-Keeper! He needs to hide!"

"But he wasn't! Peter was- Peter! Voldemort must have tortured him! He could be dead... and now Sirius will take the fall."

"Oh, why didn't we tell Dumbledore who we chose?" Lily said, her hand wiping her forehead in worry.

James wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulders. "There's nothing we can do now, Lils. We'll just have to...watch."

"Hagrid!" Sirius called, landing his motorbike gracefully. "Hagrid it's..."

"Yeh. Dumbledore said the enchantment wen' off."

"James... and Lily?"

Hagrid nodded, sniffling again. "I'm sorry, S'rius. Really I am," he said, Harry squirming in his arms.

Sirius saw the baby Potter and paled. "Give Harry to me, Hagrid. I'm his godfather, I'll look after him."

"I got strict orders from Dumbledore, Sirius. I hafta take him."

Sirius nodded, Dumbledore knew more magic than anyone. He would be safe with him, and Sirius could always meet up with them later, after dealing with Pettigrew. "I understand. Take my bike, get Harry out of here."

"Wha- Yeh love that bike, S'rius."

"Death Eaters could be on their way. Just take it, Hagrid. I won't be needing it anymore."

James squinted, knowing the look on his best mate's face. "He's going to find Peter.."

"Good." Lily said, squeezing her husband's arm in comfort.

With a roar of the motorbike, Hagrid took Harry away and Sirius made his way to the front door.

Sirius stopped at James' body, slumped awkwardly across rubble that was once the front door. His voice cracked when he screamed in horror, seeing the lifeless body of his best friend, his brother.

"It's okay, Sirius... I'm okay. I'm right here..."

"He can't hear you, James."

The raven-haired man sighed through his nose, but Sirius carefully shut James' dead eyes and moved up the stairs. He had to see Lily, he had to know it was real.

As the fourth uninvited guest, he made the same careful steps up the stairway and into the bedroom. The same red hair lay out on the carpet, eyes finding Lily's lifeless body.

James looked to his wife, the one beside him, and hugged her.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you and Harry. I wasn't quick enough-"

"Oh darling, it's okay. I'm here with you, and Harry is safe."

"But now we have to watch him grow up from here... without us."

Lily nodded sadly. "Yes, we do. But we'll look out for him, too."

-.-.-


	2. Through Time and Death

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. Life...ya know...

**-.-.-**

The years brought a lot of heartbreak to the Potters; not only did their son live in a neglectful home, but he was underfed and constantly lied to. James had a particularly difficult time watching the Dursleys treat Harry in such a way. But it eased their minds to spend time with James' parents, Charlus and Dorea, as well as Lily's parents, Harold and Daisy.

They watched as Harry defeated Quirrell and Voldemort with his bare hands, and sobbed as they saw themselves in the Mirror of Erised. They rooted for him in the Chamber of Secrets, in awe of his thick-headed bravery against the Basilisk to save Ginny Weasley.

But it wasn't until their son turned 13, and the whispers of Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban, did they feel so utterly hopeless in Heaven.

"That's Peter? Peter betrayed us?!" James shouted, his hands ruining his hair as he tried to grasp the situation.

"Relax, love, breathe," Lily said, hoping to calm her husband. "Sirius and Remus will take care of it. They always have."

"No, they haven't! Sirius has spent twelve years in Azkaban, the dirtiest, lowest places for a wizard to be, and Remus has spent the same dozen thinking he was the only one left! The only one who wasn't dead or mad! Neither of them were in a position to 'take care of it'! Neither of them took care of Harry, because of Peter!"

"James Charlus Potter, you listen to me right now! You four were always close, were always the thickest of thieves; Peter may have strayed from the right path but not Sirius, not Remus! We both know Sirius would never betray us, and Remus is level-headed enough to keep Sirius from doing anything drastic! Dumbledore will see, he'll make it right."

In the white abyss of Heaven, James and Lily sat in silence, watching Remus transform and Sirius saving lives by fighting him off.

"He was always the alpha, you know," James mumbled, draping his arm over Lily's shoulder. "Sirius fought for Alpha when we first learned to transform...figured it would keep Moony in check better."

Lily offered a warm smile, "That was a brilliant idea. Who thought of it?"

James sighed, ruffling his hair out of habit. "Peter's."

And they shared silence once more.

**-.-.-**

The Tri-Wizard Tournament came and went, just as the seasons come and go. The pair walked a quiet path from their own Heaven and met Cedric a few days after his arrival. He was a nice boy, innocent even, and Lily thanked the Hufflepuff for his help to Harry.

"It was only fair," Cedric said. "He warned me about the dragons..."

"Perhaps," she responded, "But it's nice to know that someone else was looking out for my son."

Cedric smiled, his thick hair falling into his eyes. "Yes ma'am."

**-.-.-**

The day Sirius came was bittersweet. James watched as Harry once again took on Death Eaters, outnumbered not only in skill but also in bodies. Lily found it difficult to keep her eyes on Earth, instead clinging to James' green sweater and hiding her eyes in the crook of his neck.

"Padfoot..!" James cried, and his wife caught a glimpse of Sirius' body falling gracefully into the veil. "Padfoot, no! No, no, no, you can't...you can't!"

"Oh James..."

"He's left Harry now! Harry's on his own again!"

"He's got Remus..."

James nodded absent-mindedly, "Yeah...he's got Remus."

It wasn't until Harry was back in Dumbledore's office that Sirius came to them.

It was a quiet stride, as Sirius' always were, that brought the Potter's back to Heaven.

"Padfoot," James nodded stiffly.

"Prongs," Sirius greeted, his right hand in his pocket.

A quirk in James' lips giving his feelings away. "It's a shame you got old," he said.

"It's a shame you didn't," Sirius replied, eyeing his old friend up and down.

And like that, the two embraced as brothers, distanced through time and death.

**-.-.-**

_Updated 2/4/2015_


End file.
